Kerri's Greatest Hits

Can I post one more today? It's Friday and the end of the month and this one isn't necessarily farmer's market inspired but a great find that I thought I would share. When I left Texas, Kerri provided me with a binder of her most cherished recipes ... several of which I had sampled from our Sunday night dinner get-togethers. I don't know why it took me so long to try this one out. Probably, because the name alone is scary ... Risotto with Shrimp and Coconut Milk. Try passing off "risotto" made with coconut milk to an Italian husband ... still I was curious. This was a really great dish and easy to have ingredients on hand. It has a lot of different tastes going on with the coconut milk, tarragon, and fennel seeds. I wish I had a picture of it. Halfway through the dish, I had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be what I expected ... but in the end, it came together and had a wonderful flavor.

Risotto with Shrimp and Coconut Milk (From Boston chef Didi Emmons of the Delux Cafe)

8 oz. small raw shrimp, peeled (shells reserved) and deveined
5 c. chicken broth, heated
2 T. vegetable oil
1 c. finely chopped onion ( I used a couple of shallots)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and pressed or finely chopped
1/2 t. fennel seed
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 c. Arborio rice
1/2 c. dry white wine
1 t. dried tarragon leaves
2 small plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 c. unsweetened cocount milk
1/4 c. chopped scallions
juice of 1 lime, about 2 T.
salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Combine the shrimp shells with the broth in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes. Strain broth and return it to the saucepan. Reheat the broth before adding it to the risotto. Discard the shells. Don't skip this stage it really does give the broth a shrimpy flavor.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy 4 qt. pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, fennel seed and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, 2-3 minutes ( I would say maybe 8 minutes on a lower heat). Be careful not to brown it ... cook it gently. Stir in the rice to coat the grains with the remaining oil and onion mixture and cook about 1 minute longer.

3. Add the wine, tarragon, and tomatoes and stir until the wine is mostly absorbed by the rice. Add the coconut milk (I just used the whole can) and continue to cook, stirring until the milk is mostly absorbed by the rice. Add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. Reserve 1/4 cup of broth to add at the end. When the rice has been cooking for 15 minutes (tender but still quite firm), add the shrimp.

4. When the rice is tender, about 5 minutes longer, turn off the heat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup broth, the scallion, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6